THE LAMB OF GOD SLAIN His Way Is In The Sanctuary Series No. 05 1
Reasons for the Incarnation 2 In our previous lecture I spoke about the reasons why Jesus came to this earth to live in our midst in the camp as a perfect man. As we saw, He came for several reasons. First, He came to reveal what God s character is really like. Second, He took mortal human nature so that it would be possible for Him to die. Third, He took human nature so that He could be truly tempted. Fourth, He took true humanity so that we could be assured that He sympathizes and empathizes with us so that He could understand us. Fifth, He took human nature so that He could serve as judge. Sixth, He took human nature so that He could have a perfect humanity to impute and impart to us. Finally, He took a human nature so that He could prepare a place for us and come again to receive us unto Himself.
Two Pieces of Furniture 3 Now we want to move with Jesus into the court where His death and resurrection are represented by the altar of sacrifice and the laver. In the court there were two pieces of furniture: The altar of sacrifice and the laver, in that order. We will find in our study today that the altar represents the death of Christ and the laver His resurrection.
Why did Jesus have to live a perfect life and then die? 1. The Law demands sinless perfection; it says: obey and live. 2. We have broken the law and cannot offer what the Law requires. 3. Sin is transgression of the Law and the wages of sin is death.
4. All of us are on death row because we have all sinned. 5. We needed someone live the perfect life for us that the Law requires. 6. This Jesus did in the camp when He came to live with us. 7. But then we also needed someone to pay the penalty of death for our transgressions of the law.
8. In other words, we needed someone to live for us and to die for us. 6
Genesis 22:2 Then He said, Take now your son, your only son [but Abraham also had Ishmael] Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering [not only kill him but burn him] on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. 7 In Genesis 22:2 Issac is called Abraham s only [yachid: unique, special, one of a kind, precious] son whom the Father loved.
Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 8 The agony lasted three days.
Genesis 22:6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 9 Issac bore the wood to the place upon his back and the Father bore the fire and the knife and had to raise His own hand against His beloved son.
Genesis 22:8, 13, 14 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering. So the two of them went together. 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The- Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided. 10 At the climactic moment of the story God provided a ram to die instead of Issac. You have here the idea of substitution.
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. 11
Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, In Isaac your seed shall be called, 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. 12 Issac resurrects in type on the third day.
Exodus 12:5-7 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month [Nissan]. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight [literally between the two evenings ]. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 13 Exodus 12:5-7: The sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. All makes twelve years and older were to gather in Jerusalem for the celebration this Feast (Exodus 23:17). The Passover provided the month the day and the very hour of Christ s death. Read the verses. It is important to underline the fact that the sacrifice of the Lamb, though extremely important, was not enough to save the first-born. The blood needed to be applied in faith to each individual household.
1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 14 th 1 Corinthians 5:7: Christ is our Passover. Died at the precise month, day, and hour 3 o clock on the 14 of Nissan.
The Seventy Weeks 15
Daniel 9:26, 27 And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself... 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. 16 Daniel 9:26, 27: The Messiah shall be cut off in the middle of the 70th week. This prophecy provided the year for the death of Christ. We will study this prophecy in detail later on in this series.
Desire of Ages p. 757 All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God's Son. The great sacrifice has been made. 17 This literally happened when Jesus died on the cross. Read the statements. It is true that the Jews continued to carry on their offerings and sacrifices. But if they had understood what the escape of the Lamb meant, they would have ceased the sacrifices then and there.
Morning and Evening Sacrifice 18
Exodus 29:38, 39 Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. 39 One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. 19 Exodus 29:38, 39: The Morning and Evening Sacrifice pointed to Christ.
The Suffering Servant 20
Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 21 Isaiah 43:4-6: The Suffering Servant foreshadowed the sufferings of Jesus.
Acts 8:32-35 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 22 Acts 8:32-35: Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.
1 Peter 2:23, 24... who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. 23
A Sweet Aroma 24
Numbers 15:2, 3 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, 3 and you make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet aroma to the Lord, from the herd or the flock, 25
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 26 Ephesians 5:2: His offering was as a sweet smelling aroma to God.
An Unblemished Lamb 27
Leviticus 22:20-22 Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. 28 Leviticus 22:20-22: The lamb had to be without defect. The type is never as perfect as the antitype as a shadow is never as clear as the reality which projects the shadow. In the Old Testament they could only be certain that the animal had no physical defect but this represented the fact that Jesus had no moral defect.
An Unblemished Priest 29
Leviticus 21:17-21 Speak to Aaron, saying: No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall Leviticus 21:17-21: The priest could have no physical blemish. The officiating priest could have no physical defect. This represented the fact that Jesus had no moral defect. Jesus had to be a morally perfect priest and a morally perfect Lamb.
Leviticus 21:17-21 come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 31
Hebrews 7:26, 27 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 32 Hebrews 7:26, 27: Jesus is the Priest and the Lamb. As a spotless priest, Jesus officiated his own sacrifice as the Lamb. And then He takes His own blood as the living priest into the holy place after His resurrection. Emphasize the once for all nature of His sacrifice in contrast to the Roman Catholic view.
1 Peter 1:18-20... knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. 33 1 Peter 1:18-20: Jesus had no moral defect.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 34 Hebrews 4:15: Jesus never sinned He was a perfect lamb and priest.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He [the Father] made [past punctual action] Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might [potential] become the righteousness of God in Him. 35
Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree ). 36
A Corporate Work for Everyone 37 The life of Jesus in the camp and His death on the cross were corporate. He lived for every person who has ever lived and He died for every person.
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 38 Read the verse. Deal briefly with the rock episodes but without emphasizing the meaning of the water. The meaning of the water that comes forth from the rock we will study in detail in the next lecture.
1 Timothy 2:5, 6 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 39
1 John 2:1, 2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 40
Desire of Ages p. 753 Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father s mercy and pardoning
Desire of Ages p. 753 love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father s reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt. 42
Claiming the Sacrifice 43
John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 44 John 3:14-16: The serpent in the wilderness. Will everyone then be saved because Jesus lived his life and died His death for all? No! We personally claim what Jesus did on earth by coming to Him in the holy place.
The Laver 45 The camp and the court represent the work of Christ on earth so the laver must represent some work of Christ before He ascended to the holy place in heaven. Jesus lived a perfect life in the camp He died as a substitute on the altar in the court He resurrected at the laver in the court Then He went into the holy place to intercede for those who claim the benefits of His life and death. A person was touched a dead carcass was considered unclean because the dead body was unclean. But Jesus came forth from the tomb clean never to die anymore. Death was washed away once and for all!
Titus 3:5 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 46 Read the verse. The word regeneration here is very interesting. It is the Greek compound word. The word palin mean again and the word guenesis means to become or come about. It means to regenerate. Greek lexicons say the word means rebirth. Thus the translation could be through the washing of rebirth.
Matthew 19:28 So Jesus said to them, Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 47 Read the verse. The parallel passages in Mark and Luke do not use the word regeneration but rather refer substitute the age to come (Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30) The word renewing is also very interesting. It is used only here and in Romans 6:4 and 7:6. Let s notice the connotation in Romans 6:4.
Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 48 Romans 6:4 (the Greek word kainotes) Read the verse. The next step in the movement of Jesus through the sanctuary is entering the holy place to begin His intercession for individuals who claim the benefits of the work that He performed on earth.